Andrew Wigger (Photo by Kasie Strickland).
COLUMBIA – The Newberry Observer and contributing writer Andrew Wigger were recently honored by the South Carolina Press Association (SCPA). The annual SCPA Awards Celebration Banquet was held April 4 in Columbia, where Wigger took home a first place award.
Wigger’s story, “A wrestler’s journey from Afghanistan to Newberry College,” received first place in the Sports’ Feature Story division.
The story shared the unique journey of Newberry College student, Bashir Rostami, an Afghanistan refugee who, after wrestling for his high school in Florida for one year, found his way to Newberry.
It takes the reader on a trip through Rostami’s past of growing up in Afghanistan, later finding their way into the United States as a family to Florida where he continued his passion for wrestling and ultimately ended up at Newberry College.
SCPA judges comments on Wigger’s story share that it was “a very unique story of the outside features impacting this outstanding athlete. It really lets us get to know him and his passion for his sport.”
Wigger said he first heard about Rostami and his story through a social media post via the college’s wrestling account.
“I knew immediately that his story needed to be covered at the Newberry level, and that I wanted to be the one to write it,” he said.
Wigger said getting to interview both Rostami and Newberry College Coach Bryant Blanton was an incredible experience.
“I enjoyed writing his story of getting to Newberry College and I hope the community enjoyed reading it as well!”